Elected Sportsman of the Year at the Laureus World Sports Awards last year, Lionel Messi is once again nominated in this category for the 2024 edition which will take place on April 22 in Madrid. Jude Bellingham could be elected Revelation of the Year.
After his very surprising coronation as The Best Fifa Player of the Year 2023 on January 15, Lionel Messi, who nevertheless did not win much (with PSG, the Argentina team and Inter Miami) , is named in the Sportsman of the Year category of the Laureus World Sports Awards 2024. The captain of Argentina, 2022 world champion, obtained this award last year during a ceremony in Paris.
For this 25th edition, Laureus has chosen Madrid for this gala scheduled for April 22 and “La Pulga” will therefore have to return to the Spanish capital in the event of a new coronation (he plays the next day in New York with Inter Miami). However, Novak Djokovic, winner in 2015 and 2016, and Max Verstappen, winner in 2022, seem the favorites, the others named being Mondo Duplantis, Erling Haaland and American sprinter Noah Lyles.
In the Spanish capital, the day after a Clasico at the Bernabéu, Jude Bellingham could well receive the Laureus Award for world revelation. The English international from Real is named along with Colombian striker Linda Caicedo (Real Madrid) and Spanish striker Salma Paralluelo (Barça). Manchester City and the Spanish women’s team are obviously in the race for Team of the year.
Haller for the comeback of the year?
Aitana Bonmati, the reigning Women’s Ballon d’Or, will have her work cut out for her in the Sportswoman of the Year category against athletes Shericka Jackson, Faith Kipyegon, Sha’Carri Richardson, skier Mikaela Shiffrin and tennis player Iga Swiatek.
Finally, Sébastien Haller, one of the heroes of Côte d’Ivoire during the coronation at the African Cup of Nations a few weeks ago, is nominated for the Laureus World Comeback of the year, he who recovered from cancer in 2022.
